The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 15, 1900, Page 3

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, MONDAY, JANUARY 15, 1900. NOT SATISFIED WITH THE REPLY OF SALISBURY England Dodging the Issue in Respect to the Seizures of American Flour. Returns an Evasive Answer to Secretary Hay and Holds to Her Position Regarding the Right of Search. Special Dispatch to The Call. relfable by d been accepted s Governw 1swer was T r evasive. It to the extent that sition taken s official dls- closed by any Great Britain the right of ctory to The hoate pleased with FRENCH NOT TO BLAME FOR ROUT OF SUFFOLKS to the dated unfortunate RECONNOISSANCES ON FREE STATE SOIL A dispatch auwpoort, o companies ninety- ed. Captain er and sent a 8 N it his way rtillery to di- aring that the ree men got but Captain with his rrender CANADA’S OFFER OF VOLUNTEERS ACCEPTED ch the Boers uigh and doubly scoverable too high to be lers.” RIFLES IN THE CARGO OF THE BUNDESRATH and New York Her- by James Gordon les have been d he German impe- desrath, recen Bay by a British ¢ urban. The search i @ e eI eI e eieEeieEe eI ebebeiebeQ 8 ® s . soe b bededebe . MAJOR GENERAL SIR JOHN CHARLES ARDAGH, : g3 . ) 1s director of the military intelligence departmient, : r <h army, is falling the brunt of the blame for the k as to the numbe etc., of the Boers, which been the main cau ral disasters that the € e field have met with, - y-one ervice, having entered o Royal as in the Iintelligence P4 quarters staff from 1576 to 1881, and then sent on special 3 of much importance to Turkey. As major he went through the cam- aign of 1852, including the battle of Tel-Ei-Kebir, and won mention in the ¢ ais nd brevet of lieutenant colonel, with the Egyptian medal and & the Star. Again with Sir Gerald Graham in the Soudan campaign . ng engineer and D. A. Q. M. G. in the intelligence department P , mention in the dispatches and the C. B. with two additional T BEgyptian medal. In the Khartoum relief expedition he com- e base at Cairo, and again won mention, with the brevet of ? < ain won mention for the sixth time in the action at + G In 1887 he was colonel on the staff in Egypt, o 1t ary to the Viceroy of India and later aid de camp to the b €5 In 15%5 he was made commandant of the Military 3 A ering, one of the most honorable and best prizes that one P ervice can reach. April, 189, he has been in the all-important office that he now holds, @ and it 1= a matter of no small suprise and regret to his friends and the 4 public generally that anything should have been allowed by him to occur 4 tending o cast a shadow on the close of his long and brilliant caree: 0000009 09:04-0-90000 00000~ nt as well as | R O A S s e attempt | D e e o e e e ok S S I R O o o *P e e & | I IIIIGIOIOIPIOIDIOIIIOIDITID G O CITY ILADYSMITH.- | and New York Her- . by James Gordon A ugh thera is ppose that fight- n the line of report has llowed to come through since tatement of his ters Drift. tl ~ason to proceedir ing §; the Tu been zela River. no with general move- Warren, either ed with about | mined advance on M east. int Inhlawe, to the e might be able to threaten the British line of communications. It is quite possible that operate in the attack on mountain. Now that the Tugela is running at flood the time is favorable, as it will be difficult for the Boers to reinforce their position south of the river except by a pontoon bridge, which is believed to have been constructed. In the absence of any official | news the War Office is remaining ob- durately silent. ' London yesterday was full of rumors. | It was freely reported that engagements had taken place at three different points along the extended Boer lines. As a mat- ter of conjecture this may be correct, for there is reason to suppose that some movement was made against Colenso sim- | ultaneously with the selzure of Potgleters Drift. It is quite possible also that an attempt to flank the Boers may be made on both the east and west, but the ground on ‘he east is more difficult than that toward Springfield, and to make a wide detour in the direction of Weenen would necessarily require a large amount of transport. If fighting really occurred at three points yesterday or Saturday they would most likely be Mount Hlangwana, Colenso and some spot north of Potgieters Dritt, Warren will co- this oping the Boers, to which General Buller 1s obviously committed. In this connection a dispatch to the | Daily Telegraph from Frere, dated Wednesday, the day before active opera- tions began, in which the correspondent looks forward to some decisive event and was making preparations to take up a wagon load of luxuries for the troops at | Ladysmith, clearly indicates that at Frere | it was unaerstood that the British at- | tempt to relieve Ladysmith was about to be made. A brief dispatch from Lord Roberts, the first the new commander-in-chief has sent, which the War Office issued at mid- night, tends to puzzle the public still fur- ther. It was dated Sunday, and simply “No change in the situation to- y,” but does not state since when there has been no change, and there is no in- formation as to what the situation really has been since Tuesday. The whole position of affairs on the Tu- gela is enveloped In mystery, which can on)y be understood as implying that ope- 11,000 men the directicn of Weenen, | which wo the view that both flanks ¢ are belng | threatened as a to a deter- Colenso. upon the southern bank of the | Tu . must be cleared of the Boer force | which has been holding it, since other- wise this for marking a step in that process of envel- | which, but, believe me, all will go well. at Colenso and Ladysmith.” ONDON, Jan. 15.—The Dalily Telegraph publishes the following sig- nificant dispatch.from {its war correspondent, taken with General Buller's advance to Springfleld and Pet- gleters Drift, seems to Indicate a determined effort The articles include liquors for invalids, The weather continues dry. ok 230RSORIO N0 TOREII0NT CISZOISONS LIROORICANNG ROMFIRTRONT LN L 4 |+ | & . © + |+ bt AN INTERRUPTION ® FooTBALL GAME 4+ OF THE GORDO M » HIGRLANDERS AT LADYSMITH + Nov.ie.SToemeD 8YBoER: @ 1 SCENES IN BELEAGUERED @ LORD BULLER PROBABLY HAS ENGAGED THE BOERS London Awaiting News of a Decisive Battle on the Tugela River—French Said to Have Sur- rounded a Burgher Force. EVIDENCE THAT BULLER EXPECTS T0 GET THROUGH Special Cable to the New York Herald. Copyright, 1900, by James Gordon Bennett. Republication of this dispatch is prohibited. All rights reserved in the United States and Great Britain. 53018 LIS OBI ! .0 Mr. Bennet Burleigh, to push through SRR 8018 for. free distribution together with jams and ] to Ladysmith: o “FRERE CAMP, Wednesday night, Jan. 10.—On behalf of the Daily Tele- graph I am taking up a wagon-load of- little luxuries among our troops in Ladysmith. 20,000 clgarettes and fully half as many cigars, £ fruits. Possibly You may not hear from me during tha next two days or so, All is quiet 2308 LA LADYSMITH. (Be e b et e eiebeted +ded sdbeieioieieie® |+ 4+ 4+4+4+4+4++4+4+4+4+4++ -4+ 4 the hill was a close call and resulted in WARREN CROSSES TUGELA RIVER LONDON, Jan. 15.—A spe- cial dispatch from Cape Town, dated Friday, January 12, evening, announces that General Warren has crossed the Tugela River. + D R R R R rations of critical importanee are going on. The mystery is further deepened by a dlspatch from Boer headquarters, which, although issued on Thursday last, makes no mention of General Buller's flanking movement in the direction of Potgieters Drift. It Is Impossible that this movement could not have been known to the Boers, because it must have been n progress for two or three days, and General Buller himself states that the Boers were intrenched four and a half miles north of his advanced posts. The Boers also are probably *playing ‘possum.” There is a delightfully naive aftectation of perplexity in the conclud- ing statement of the dispatch, that the object of the British is conjectured, but 1s by no means clear. The statement that Ladysmith has been firing rockets during the two nights pre- ceding Buller’s advance is also puzzling. General French appears to have work- ed around the Boer flank. He is said to have 4000 Boers surrounded, but unless he has been very much strengthened this must be a risky game. ——— FIGHTING RENEWED ON LADYSMITH OUTPOSTS Special Dispatch to The Call. NEW YORK, Jan. 15.—The Journal prints the following, which it asserts fs the first news of a hitherto unrecorded fight: LADYSMITH, Jan. 11.—No further Boer movements to attack us have been made since Saturday, when they evidently had enough. There was a slight brush early this morping on the outposts. The attack on P O FEI b rEr e a severe addition to the Caesar Camp losses. Relief s evidently expected soon, as the garrison rations have been in- creased FRENCH'S ATTEMPT TO FLANK THE BOERS Special Dispatch to The Call. NEW YORK, Jan. 14.—The Journal has the following from Rensberg, dated Jan- uary 12: General French has succeeded In temporarily getting behind the Boers, cutting off the possibilities of retreat. A small detachment of carbineers recon- noitered the enemy’s flank and discovered the enemy 800 strong in a laager five miles to l¥|e southeast of Stormberg. The British scouts retired and are safe. Col- onel Porter followed In a reconnolssance with a_force of the Household Cavalry and a New Zealand contingent with four guns and succeeded In occupying Slingers- fontein, five miles to the east of the enemy’s position, flve miles from Norvals Pont. The Boers discovered the movement and made a vigorous attack, but the British guns forced them to re- tire. Simultaneously another British battery advanced to the plain to a point near the railroad connecting Colesberg and Rens- berg. The Boer guns, however, proved an overmatch for the British, both in range and accuracy, the latter belng forced to retire, having several horses killed. ik A CANNONADING HEARD TOWARD KIMBERLEY [Speclal Cable to the New York Herald. Copy- Tight, 1900, by James Gordon Bennett. Re- publication of this dispateh Is prohibited, Al rights reserved in the United States and Grea: Britain.] LONDON, Jan. spondent of the Daily Mail sends this dis- patch: MODDER RIVER, Wednesday, Jan. 10. —At 7 o'clock this morning distant and heavy firing was heard to the north. The enemy has evidently again turned his at- tention to Kimberley. It is rumored that President Kruger is’visiting Bloemfontein with the object of giving support to Cronje's representations in favor of at- tacking our position. Muyn;_ Harrison Refuses. CHICAGO, Jan. 14.—Mayor Carter H. Harrison to-day formally refused the of- fer of the Democratic nomination for Governor. As a result of Mayor Harrison's action, friends of former Vice President Stevenson are urging him to accept the nomination. . ———————— Saveé money by buying your blankbooks, rinting and.all office lunpll from San- gom, all & Co., 741 Market st. - P S R S S e S S R S S S i 4 15.—The spectal corre- | TALES OF WAR FROM BRITONS AND BURGHERS Incidents of Battles of the War Detailed in Letters Written by Soldiers. One Decribes the Bombardment of Kimberley as Farcical, the Shells Not Doing the Slightest Damage. Correspondence of the Associated Press. ONDON, Jan. 6.—Letters from the| We firsd on, he as well as I and tried ta soldiers fighting against the Boers | get cover behind three great blocks of rock. are published In large numbers, | When a timbagopi- - and in many cases are § covered The gen- | eral w AS Mo 0 esting as the accounts by tra war correspondents. A medical o | ficer under Lord Methuen, d: battle of Modder er, writes A lot of North Lancashire men were hor- I turned over a eant, black One man was brought to me k by a shell fragment and chest lace - the side. horse the general Ing an; distance w then the general ribly wounded in the fac dead. wpunded, where! g e Highland 1 went out near sunset to ers. They had been Iying 3 under t frightful sun and their wou were still | there. No stretcher bearers could advance, as | b they were all shot at. They shouted to me to | * asked Coghtll, while we looked crawl on the ground, as, though most of the firing was over, there were still three or four Sl il Wy it e Boers with express rifles and explosi lets, who were under cover and who ke, The Salle Some men utterly s to put a pad to thei ing off our men. and all I could do w ng had to be r wounds and my whisky flask to their lips. I wounded—Coghtll com- then crawled back to my horse and made my | At vl e 10" way to some ambulances two miles dis soderil Who ‘wee get their aid. I wds under fire all the time, | as death. We bullets dancing around me. I felt a kind threw down everything that might delay us a j=< solemn disregard, as 1 had been exposed to dan ger before. In a letter written to his father from Mool River on November 23, an officer in | { the Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment | says: | Against an enemy like the Boers infantry useless. The Boers have spies everywhere, and as they are well mounted they can m: hours before our infantry can get wit t was vard ing distance. On the other hand, they will [ passed the night never attack, and when we advance toward | and the next mor Pretoria commandos will be left all over the | mando of Viljoen. countsy, lcoting and burning farms. The only people who have a chance with them are th local volunteers. If the Government would only | P rd and rafse about 2000 volunteers and send out a lot | . Digger News gives t of the of mounted infantry who could work with the g a ey - . f a commando from Pretor local volunteers these isolated Boer forces 3 m Pretoria would soon be wiped out. At present we are | ¢ 460 sturdy warriors helpless, as they make rings around us. | The special correspondent of the Cagpe Argus thus describes a bombardment of Kimberley: ‘What will probably annals of history to n the as the a pos down rity be han Boer bombardment of Kimberely probably occurred on Thursday, November 7, and if ever the ent were introduced into such a The at a range other at Spytfontein, quite A couple of shots were fired between o'clock in the morning, but then the B 1 10 o'clock, when the gun at Sche arently a pounder, firin Il, opened fire on Wesselton. fire, however, proved quite harmless, nea the shots falling in the debris heaps. Our at W on replying, and quickly 7060 yards distant and & nt range, induced the enemy to cease they cleared off about noon. So little was thought of the Bo the alarm business has been the 1 e tr alarm did it cause that the men in the r were actually playing cricket and quoits while it was going on. The following is from a létter from a reservist sergeant in the Coldstream Guards, who is with Methuen's column. as at the battle of Modder River and | g the afterncon some one seemed to | have spotted me frd First a | shot struck the side of my boot and then one struek my rifle § in of my face, filling my arit and splinte: Ir up a Iittle, when another bullet struck middle finger of my left hand. 1 had got ¢ my knees when a bullet struck me fair in the chest. on the buckle of my haversack, | gr,m oS breaking through. and causing a slight puncture | Jonu"d0 e ton n and bruising my chest. 1 have been | of the war 1 as being the lucklest beggur i 10 have he Daily wi talion From the Boer sides come reports just | as interesting. A lad of 17 wrote to his | mother after the battle of Elands Laagte, | and the letter is published in the Journal | de Geneve, as follows: | We were on a kopje. Our horses were behind | it in a hollow. As the - against us we began s When it look | as 1t we were going to be surrounded a certain | number of our men ftell back to another tion. About & hundred of us remained kopje. But the fire of the Maxims and other guns became so violent that we withdrew a Jit- tle to find cover. The general and Command- ant Viljoen rallied us and brought us back to | the top of the hill and advised us to get under | shelter there as much as possible. 1 followed | the general with a dozen others to the right | of bringing two horses ¢ and Viljoen led the rest to the le(t. The Eng- ( Man, aad ' SotSeRauos ¢ lish were still advancing and they were now | D ticacids combined showed no writes ties still e tle of that ,¢ the Boer is the desire to lie about their nun ywn that they First in the min; to hide his dead ber. It is from their sire to hide the trut all sald only eighteen h serters that In the in consequence of the within 500 yards of us. It Was easy to Tecog- | of rideriess horses as Modder nize the kilts they were wearing. We fired | were literally hundreds of them. 1 at them Inceseantly. Al our bullets seemed to | mine in the fght but in the fizst halt Bour strike. 1 had not time to be afrald. I pfayed | of the mext morning I too cho | and might have. made my pick from a hundred, saddled and bridled, before I had gone half over the fleld One word as to that phase of their warfars which must be touched upon in justice in every account we correspondents write of it. God and fired on, aiming each time at one of thetr men. You know I am not a bad shot Their Maxims gave us back what we sent | them without & moment's etop. A few of us, | find our position to risky, ran back to | where the horses were and rode off. I was :Ioul to the general and remained. Continued on Page Seven. @+0+04040 ¢04+04040+0 4040404 040404040 404040404 04040 ROBERTS REPORTS NO CHANGE AT THE FRONT LONDON, Jan. 15.—The War Office issued at mid- night a dispatch from Field Marshal Roberts, dated Cape Town, January 14, 8:30 p. m., saying: “There is no change in the situation to-day.” The War Office simultaneously published the follow- ing from Lord Roberts, dated Cape Town, January 13, 3:30 p. m: “Methuen’s cavalry reconnoissance returned on January 11. It went twenty-three miles into the Free State. The country was clear of the enemy, except patrols. All quiet at Modder River. “French reconnoitered around the enemy’s left flank on January 10. He advanced from Slimungers Farm on January 11 with cavalry and horse artillery to bombard the Boer laager east of Colesberg Junction, but was un- able to outflank the enemy. Reconnoissance of cavalry and mounted infantry pushed north of Bustards Nek and examined the country north of the ridge. “Gatacre reports no change. All was well on Decem- ber 28 at Mafeking.” | | 15 w 04040404040404040404040404040404040400000 040404040 000000000000000000000'0000000000000000000'0000000000‘ 1 ‘oo 404040 4040404040 4040404 040404040 404040404 0404049